[Spionweb]

Hello all,

Recently i selected my components for a home build HTPC and would like to get feedback on the various components.
This is to verify the limits what this setup can and possible inprovements on the hardware.
I selected all the components on what i think suited me the best.

Case: LC-Power LC-1320mi (75W PSU)
Motherbord: Asus E45M1-I DELUXE
RAM Memory: Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3S8N9K2/4G
Harddisk: Crucial m4 CT064M4SSD2 64GB
Optical Drive: Samsung SN-T083C Zwart (optionel maybe in future Bluray)
Remote: Logitech K400 Wireless Touch Keyboard (Allready owned)

Costs: € 338,-

± 25-30 WATT

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit
Software: XBMC + Icefilms
Future: NAS 6TB (FreeNAS 8) + SabNZBd

The motherbord i choose is becaus it includes allmost everything in one and is passive cooled.
I want to use wifi for when i am not able to use a RJ45 cable in some places of the house.
Also i want to use this as a mini PC so when i am not watching a movie i can surf around and get lost on the internet and watch youtube or something.
I also want this system to be as silent as it can get so no fans or just 1 to move some air.

[publicENEMY]

have you confirm the psu is enough? zacate are known to be hot. by going Asus E45M1-I DELUXE, i dont think you can go fanless. case fans seem mandatory. i heard zacate is picky about ram. check first.

good luck.

[eskro]

75W should handle the E450 miniITX

[Spionweb]

have you confirm the psu is enough? zacate are known to be hot. by going Asus E45M1-I DELUXE, i dont think you can go fanless. case fans seem mandatory. i heard zacate is picky about ram. check first.

good luck.

Maybe i will use 1 fan from Scythe to create a airflow inside the case.
Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12L, 120mm

75W should handle the E450 miniITX

Indeed, i am not worried about that but about the capebillities from the E45M1-I Deluxe, I am gonna use this system as HTPC / SFF PC

[eskro]

the E450 platform is good enough for OpenELEC.

[Spionweb]

the E450 platform is good enough for OpenELEC.

Yes but i am gonna use it as HTPC / Desktop.
I also created this setup:

# Product
1 Asus F1A75-M PRO
1 Silverstone Grandia GD06B
1 Scythe Shuriken Rev. B
1 Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3S8N9K2/4G
1 Samsung SH-B123L (12x, SATA-150, dual-layer, Zwart, Retail)
1 be quiet! Pure Power L7 300W
1 Crucial m4 CT064M4SSD2 64GB
1 AMD A4-3400 Boxed

The above setup costs 120 euro more then the E45M1-I setup but has allmost the same features en is faster in speed.

[eskro]

for the $20 price diff, get an AMD A6-3500 Boxed

[Spionweb]

for the $20 price diff, get an AMD A6-3500 Boxed

The A6 runs on 2,1 Ghz and the A4 on 2,7
Also the A6 has a Radeon HD6530D and the A4 Radeon HD6410D
And the CPU Cache Level 2 is on the A6 3x 1MB and the A4 is 2x 512KB

So the A6 runs on less ghz but has a faster videocard and has more level 2 cache.

[eskro]

so your saying?

[Spionweb]

so your saying?

That the A6 has a faster GPU and more cache but runs on less ghz.

[eskro]

CPU performance is not only about 'ghz' ...
In fact, i could care less about that spec.

i check benchmarks and CPU PassMark!!

[Slatergs]

CPU performance is not only about 'ghz' ...
In fact, i could care less about that spec.

i check benchmarks and CPU PassMark!!

I will comment as I built a last gen e-350 htpc awhile back, so very similar:

Case: LIAN LI PC-Q11B
MB: E35M1-I DELUXE
RAM: 4GB G-Skill (don't need much for use as an HTPC)
PSU: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D (You should have plenty of power though. Using a Kill-A-Watt the system pulls 30-40W on avg and max of 50W. This includes the power being used by 1 fan, MB, RAM, Bluray Drive, SSD, Tuner)
HDD: 80GB Intel 320 Series SSD
TV Tuner: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 1850
OS: W7 with xbmc

I play full BluRay rips at 1080p on my 50" Plasma and play Blurays directly through the drive and have not had a single hint of stuttering. This thing performs like a champ. Even use it for some basic games, but for video playback and use as an htpc, these components are perfect. Should you build a system that has an A4 or A6 in it for just a bit more? I would ask why do you need to? The function is as an htpc, in my mind that is media playback and energy efficiency since it will most likely be on all the time, and it will more than do its job. I had used an i3 system before and I used more power than I wanted when it was on 24/7. My brothers atom system choked on full 1080p, it took a little less power, but minimal, and my system can run anything. Just watched the extended edition of Avatar the other day (18GB Rip) and it performed flawlessly.

Originally I just had this htpc, so I had another HDD inside, but I made a home server with which I store all my files and stream everything from that on the htpc. All over Gigabit LAN, never tried the wifi. The server was built very similar to this setup, just used the non-deluxe version of this MB, 4GB, and software raided up some 3TB drives, no need for the TV tuner and put it in my rackmount chassis. This is my perfect setup because both systems are on 24/7 and take very minimal power and are always accessible.

Recap:
- Great hardware choices for an htpc (much better than Intel Atom)
- Low power system (no need to go for the larger components, more heat and power and really no need unless I am missing something you are trying to do)
- Plenty of power for media playback and light gaming
- If you get a different style case you could shove a tv tuner in there and record tv (I have the server set up so I just save everything to that)
- You will love it and so will others that use it! My wife loves ours whereas before she never could find everything or figure it out.

On a side note: Where are you finding the E45M1-I Deluxe MB? I have been waiting to make another one with that MB and give mine to my brother, but it is not available anywhere. Laptops are getting the e-450 chipset in them, but nothing else is available as far as motherboards. ASUS has it listed on their site, but no way to purchase or know when they will release. Let me know if you find something!

Just my experience, hope this helps a little!

[Spionweb]

I will comment as I built a last gen e-350 htpc awhile back, so very similar:

Case: LIAN LI PC-Q11B
MB: E35M1-I DELUXE
RAM: 4GB G-Skill (don't need much for use as an HTPC)
PSU: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D (You should have plenty of power though. Using a Kill-A-Watt the system pulls 30-40W on avg and max of 50W. This includes the power being used by 1 fan, MB, RAM, Bluray Drive, SSD, Tuner)
HDD: 80GB Intel 320 Series SSD
TV Tuner: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 1850
OS: W7 with xbmc

<cut>

On a side note: Where are you finding the E45M1-I Deluxe MB? I have been waiting to make another one with that MB and give mine to my brother, but it is not available anywhere. Laptops are getting the e-450 chipset in them, but nothing else is available as far as motherboards. ASUS has it listed on their site, but no way to purchase or know when they will release. Let me know if you find something!

Just my experience, hope this helps a little!

Yeh it helps alot. it makes me want to buy the Asus E45M1-I DELUXE more and more

Its available in our country (netherlands) since December 6th 2011.
Dutch Stores
Afuture: http://afuture.nl/productview.php?productID=277060
Azerty: http://azerty.nl/producten/product_detai...-afbe.html

Well i want a low power HTPC with windows 7 and XBMC. This way i can use it for browsing the web and watching movies on the big screen.
It must support the folowing video formats:

• Normal DVD quality
  
• 720p
  
• 1080p
  
• 1080p 3D
  
• Blu-ray
  
• Blu-ray 3D
  

Also it must be silent. so the less fans the better.
Oke i got 2 definitive lists. now i need to know what one is better or make a combination.
I think the HTPC 2 will use more watt, but i am not sure. can someone verify that?

i prefere the E45M1-I Deluxe motherbord becaus its passive cooled and combines everything you need for a HTPC and Small Form Factor PC. it also includes wireless and a onboard CPU from AMD.
Also i like the Silverstone Grandia GD06 but the case is pretty large but has room for future builds and expensions.

HTPC 1

Code:

#    Product    Price    Subtotal
1    Asus E45M1-I DELUXE    € 151,-    € 151,-
1    Silverstone SST-ML03B    € 57,90    € 57,90
1    Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3S8N9K2/4G    € 19,87    € 19,87
1    Samsung SH-B123L (12x, SATA-150, dual-layer, Zwart, Retail)    € 55,50    € 55,50
1    Fortron FSP300-60GHS    € 40,70    € 40,70
1    Crucial m4 CT064M4SSD2 64GB    € 90,90    € 90,90
    Total    € 415,87

HTPC 2

Code:

#    Product    Price    Subtotal
1    Asus F1A75-M PRO    € 80,90    € 80,90
1    Silverstone Grandia GD06B    € 107,-    € 107,-
1    Scythe Shuriken Rev. B    € 21,94    € 21,94
1    Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3S8N9K2/4G    € 19,87    € 19,87
1    Samsung SH-B123L (12x, SATA-150, dual-layer, Zwart, Retail)    € 55,50    € 55,50
1    be quiet! Pure Power L7 300W    € 34,85    € 34,85
1    Crucial m4 CT064M4SSD2 64GB    € 90,90    € 90,90
1    AMD A6-3500 Boxed    € 72,-    € 72,-
    Total    € 482,96

Combination 1+2 mid way

Code:

#    Product    Price    Subtotal
1    Asus E45M1-I DELUXE    € 151,-    € 151,-
1    Silverstone Grandia GD06B    € 107,-    € 107,-
1    Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3S8N9K2/4G    € 19,87    € 19,87
1    Samsung SH-B123L (12x, SATA-150, dual-layer, Zwart, Retail)    € 55,50    € 55,50
1    be quiet! Pure Power L7 300W    € 34,85    € 34,85
1    Crucial m4 CT064M4SSD2 64GB    € 90,90    € 90,90
    Total    € 459,12

As you can see prices are not that diffrent, its only a diffrence from 50 euro's between HTPC 1 and 2.
now i need to choose....., thats hard

[Slatergs]

As you can see prices are not that diffrent, its only a diffrence from 50 euro's between HTPC 1 and 2.
now i need to choose....., thats hard

To be honest I haven't played Bluray 3d as my TV does not currently support 3d. I wouldn't see why it wouldn't, especially with the newer e-450 chipset, but it would be good to dig into that first. I know there hadn't been a lot of good driver support at first which made certain things run sluggish, until updated drivers/software came out. Sorry, can't help you there. The A6 should have no problem running BluRay 3d.
Your pricing isn't all that different between the builds, so that shouldn't really be a factor in the decision. l would assume you'll double your power consumption with the A6, but again, it would do well to research that a bit.
Here are a couple helpful links, good luck!

A6 Consumption: http://hothardware.com/Reviews/AMD-A6365...w/?page=11
E-350 Consumption: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4134/the-b...-miniitx/7
A8 Review from HTPC perspective: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4479/amd-a...spective/9

[NorDemoniac]

I just installed my E45M1-I Deluxe. Nice card btw! I also used a Corsair Force GT (60GB) and Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz RAM (2x4GB, blue).

I installed XBMC Live via an USB stick, which I have used on several computers earlier. Installed in 2-3 minutes, rebooted, CRAP!

It's like 1/3 of a frame per second. I can't even navigate, it is SOOOOOO slow! The text at the bottom of the screen updates like one letter every 5 second.

I thought I would get the perfect HTPC here, but that doesn't seem to be the case...

Am I facing hours of troubleshooting, driver installs etc?

Edit:
Found this. Maybe I just have to go to Ctrl+F1 and upgrade to Eden. Will test it out
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The problem starts with Dharma.
10.1 does not support XvBA/ATI.

You need to update to Eden to take full advantage of using an ATI Card - but even then, I think it's only as far as VAAPI.